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angemediaAll right, time to get this show back on the road. For this section of the novel, our viewpoint character changes, as we meet Cain at an earlier juncture in his life.
Book 2
The house of Ragna was all abuzz that morning.
One of the young maidservants had died, they said.
The girl's name was Elis.
"Did you know her, Master?" Thirteen-year-old Selena had broached the topic in an attempt to dodge her studies.
"No. I didn't." The neat trim of Cain's shoulder-length hair shook as he gave a curt shake of his head. He was only six years older than his pupil, so she regarded him as little more than another playmate. He had to attempt to uphold at least some degree of professionalism while on the job.
"Elis was chosen to be the Emperor's consort, but she just couldn't bear the thought, and so she flung herself from the west tower last night! They say she had a lover - a 'Lord Leviath'! It's sooooo tragic!!" Selena opened her blue eyes wide, the very picture of brattiness, as she mimicked her mother's relay of the events. Her father was captain of the Emperor's personal guard, so any news from the family was highly credible.
Cain's face darkened. This was a distasteful story, he thought - one he had heard somewhere before. No - one he had heard everywhere before. The poor woman would be the talk of the palace gossips for a while, and then be completely forgotten. But he could sympathize with this Leviath, having once been in similar circumstances himself.
He had been invited to this palace to be Selena's tutor only very recently - the great royal city where the royal houses large and small and the privileged classes lived, with the Emperor's palace at its core. The royal family's palaces stood clustered in a secluded corner of the city surrounded by forest, seemingly looking down on all the rest. He took no interest in the high nobility who lived there, so he knew little about their business.
He resolved to put his professional reserve on the back burner for the time being. With the time for studying they had left, he received a breathless lecture from his pupil on the whole sad tale.
~*~
This "Leviath" was high royalty - the Emperor's nephew. He'd be eighteen this year, they said. Despite his parentage, he was not in line for the throne - he was a dispossessed prince. Or, rather, his father was.
While his father was still crown prince, however, he had compounded an unforgivable error he had previously committed on Armis, home to the Imperial capital, and its outlying colonies. As a result, the Emperor himself removed the prince from the line of succession and forbade him from ever taking the throne - a decision with which the royalty and residents of the imperial city were all in full agreement. The current Emperor's ascension to the throne was received with great rejoicing, and his pitiful brother was relegated to his younger brother's shadow.
This much, Cain knew on his own.
The dispossessed elder brother - and the wife and child he took - were, however, permitted to remain on the palace grounds. It was perhaps the easiest and safest option available to the Emperor - to keep his incompetent brother close at hand, under his watchful eye, as a sort of pet. And so this was the brother's only child - this Leviath Ragna Alviss. According to Selena, of course.
Lord Leviath had been frequenting bars in the cities underground to drown his resentment of his miserable lot, getting into brawls and coming home soused. He was no better than a small-time hoodlum, with no friends save for his father, the gossips said. Even when his dear lover Eris had died, they claimed, his expression changed not a bit, and he had staggered off that very morning to his usual drunken pastimes. The girl, Elis, had been a lowly maid, so what would he care if the Emperor stole her away - what would he care even if she killed herself for his sake? The ladies of the court were taken aback by his faithlessness.
Cain's breathing grew labored, as if something had taken hold of his heart. He excused himself from Selena's study and went outside, heading for a small, removed summer villa that was deserted this time of year. He stopped for a while outside its elegant white face and leaned against the cold stone railing, looking out at a dead winter landscape shrouded in grey.
~*~
No matter how much time passed, her face never faded from his mind.
Her breast as it shuddered; her blood as it gushed from her heart...
How long had it been since he had been able to get back on his feet? Nominally, he had recovered from his heartbreak, but in truth, he was just going through the motions - like a lifeless automaton, hollow inside.
~*~
"Lord Leviath!"
Cain turned around with a start at the voice behind him. From a small path that wended its way around the back of the villa came a tall, slender young man with black hair. He wore a brown cape and leather boots atop a simple but well-tailored outfit the color of dry grass. The young man stopped still; from behind, a short and stout middle-aged man ran up to him.
"Whew...there you are, Lord Leviath!!" cried the man in a raspy voice, his face beaded with sweat. He heaved an exaggerated sigh.
"Leviath"......then this man is the dispossessed prince......!
Surprised, Cain regarded the man anew. He had imagined the young man to be haggard and wan, conjuring the image of a caged bird with faded plumage.
But was he really? Another look, and Cain saw the man instead as a honed blade. His toned limbs were more befitting a young military officer than a nobleman, and he bore his handsome features with the dignity of royalty - but the depth and gravity of his expression beyond a doubt spoke of a young man wise beyond his years.
The older man with the dark brown hair sidled next to the silent Leviath. "I had heard that you'd been sneaking out of town, but here you are! right in the royal house. Chalk one up for my intuition, hmmm? Well, whatever are you doing in a place like this?!"
The young man returned his intrusive questions with a stony glare. "Nothing," replied a voice that was cold and dead. But the older man didn't seem to care; he pressed on, the smile thick upon his face. From his unsavory character and gaudy dress, Cain guessed him to be a palace merchant.
"I heard the news about Miss Elis, and I couldn't be more heartbroken! I haven't a clue why the Emperor would engage in such outrageous behavior... I mean, Miss Elis was such a nice girl - it's such a waste!......" The man's gaze flitted about his listener's face to take stock of how his words were received, and he changed his tone accordingly.
"Well, you know good old Marouk, Lord Leviath - I've always been on your side! We can't let this stand, can we?!" The young man was silent; taking this as assent, the older man continued. "After all, you are the rightful heir to the throne. It is only natural that you should want to regain your place. Of course...you're going to need help..."
But the man stopped speaking suddenly; he had noticed that his listener's gaze was fixed upon something just beyond him. In his sights was Cain.
~*~
The moment Cain's eyes met Leviath's, Cain was mesmerized. His right eye was gold, the mark of the royal house. His left eye, however, was of the most brilliant emerald green - a reminder of the circumstances of his unfortunate existence. Both seemed to glow from within with the lustre of exquisitely crafted glass orbs. What emotions stirred beneath their depths? Stare into them long enough, and it seemed you could go blind from the light within.
Cain felt dizzy; he swooned, feeling as if were going to faint. Chills and illusions, light and darkness all seemed to tear apart his heart at once. That's right - he remembered this feeling--
~*~
"YOU THERE!! WHO ARE YOU?!--" A high-pitched shriek of rage snapped Cain back to reality. The man named Marouk was threatening him from the safety of the prince's shadow. "Just how long have you been listening to us, hmmm??
Surrendering himself, Cain moved closer to the two men and bowed. "We haven't met. I work as a private tutor for General Konrad's daughter."
"Konrad!!" Upon hearing the name of the head of the Imperial Guard, Maruch's eyes bulged from their sockets. Leviath's own mismatched eyes narrowed.
"What's your name?"
"Cain."
"...Strange eyes you have. They're too still for somebody living, with a look too distant for somebody dead." Leviath's tone was that of someone at the brink of the abyss, perched on the knife's edge between life and death. Cain knew firsthand what it was like to be trapped in such a deep well of despair.
"Lord Leviath--" Cain couldn't stop himself from speaking. "--Don't become like me. Find a reason to live."
Leviath, as expected, did not respond. But his eyes - which shone more and more like jewels the closer he got - fixed themselves ever more tightly on Cain.
"Hmph - what babble. Say a word about this, and in an instant, I'll have your head!!" Marouk barked, his eyes wild.
"One more thing..." said Cain, turning away from the other two. "You'd be better served without men like that at your side. ...Excuse me."
And he left, to the sound of the older man's incensed shrieks. "You--you--I'LL KILL YOU!! I'll KILL you before you even get the chance to squeal!! Leave him to me, Lord L--L--L--/Leviath--*gasp*--*gasp*--*gasp*--" Sweat rolled down the man's face in fat drops as he screamed.
"He has the most magnificent golden aura."
"Huh?" Marouk looked up and noticed that a smile had flickered across Leviath's face. Words failed him in his shock.
"A man's real worth truly does lie beneath. ...He's beautiful." His gaze still followed Cain, who was receding ever farther away.
But his smile was not one of joy. It was instead a sense of a change in the air, like a lone bud emerging from a season sunken in grey haze - a summer breeze that wrapped Leviath in warmth.
2
Cain returned to the manor just in time for his midday meal. Afterward, he left for the library inside the Imperial palace. Its grand halls were covered with giant maps and canvases.
"Cain?"
He stopped still at the sudden sound of his name. From behind a brilliant red curtain gracefully emerged a tall young man. He was stylishly attired in a tailored dark green suit, and the loose curls of his dark blond hair were tied behind him with black ribbon. He had a doll's skin, glassy and white, and a doll's visage, delicate and masklike.
The young man proceeded toward Cain, flashing his teeth with a grin. But there was no mirth there in the cold glint of his eyes. ...This man is dangerous, thought Cain, every sense sounding an alarm.
The young man made no attempt to hide the cruelty and sadism in his face. He did, however, seem to take note of the wariness in Cain's expression, and put on a cheerful affect.
He danced nearer Cain and murmured in a lilting voice: "I've learned so much about you...at Lord Leviath's request, of course! You seem quite the capable man - a man of talent."
Another one? thought Cain. What was it about Prince Leviath that drew such poisonous characters to him? He wanted to hold his head in his hands.
The young man sidled closer and smiled, though the smile did not reach his eyes. He looked upward so their eyes would meet; Cain was half a head taller than he was. "Lord Leviath has taken an interest in you...but ours is no business for a fine, upstanding gentleman like yourself. Go! Run! Right now - and I won't say a word."
Cain almost shot back a retort but recovered himself. "Don't worry. I have no intention of coming close to Lord Leviath." The young man certainly possessed a strange magnetism about him, but whoever he was, Cain had no intention of being drawn in - by him or anyone else.
But the young man glanced downward with the strangest look on his face and snickered to himself - as if in disbelief of his listener's ignorance. If it were a performance, it was a brilliant one.
"You don't understand. There's a carriage with the Imperial crest headed for General Konrad's manor as we speak."
"What?" For the first time, Cain lost his composure.
"...You'll fetch quite a high price, I think." As he registered Cain's blanched complexion, he laughed all the more gaily to himself.
Just then, a figure appeared in one of the plazas connected to the corridor. Another young man, this time in a mustard-colored outfit, but with the same blond hair.
"There you are, Kiefar!" The new presence put one hand on the snickering man's shoulder; in build, in height, in features - they were mirror images of each other.
"We have to get back; we're going to be late!" The second boy threw Kiefar a gentle smile. They were clearly twins, yet a mere glance at the newcomer's expression - so friendly and full of vibrant charm - called the entire idea into question.
"Then go for all I care!! I'm not." Kiefar's thin eyebrows knit, and he knocked his brother's hand away.
"But why, Kiefar?!......"
"I'm going to amuse myself at Lord Leviath's estate. I'm not a palace-dweller like you. If I so much as show my face over there, they'll kill me where I stand."
"But Mother will be heartbroken!"
"Mother will be just fine with you there. Go on. Your inbred royalty's that way." Kiefar pointed back toward the exit. The twins were as different as night and day - as golden sun and silvery moon.
Day slumped his shoulders in sad resignation and departed, looking back several times over his shoulder at his brother. But there was nothing but despise in Kiefar's face. His house must have been a living hell just by virtue of his brother's presence. Everyone has a right to happiness; those who have had that right stolen by cruel fate lose their faith forever - become demons themselves. Cain understood why Kiefar would choose to follow Leviath.
When the boy disappeared completely from view, the masklike smile returned to Kiefar's face. "Well, I must be going. I've warned you as best I can; farewell!"
"Wait a moment...'Kiefar,' is it?"
"Hmmm?...What is it?" Kiefar's chestnut eyes met Cain's steel-grey ones.
"I'd like to meet with Lord Leviath. Will you take me to him?"
Cain's expression mixed animosity with shock. He shrugged his shoulders: "Well, I don't know; this is no business of mine."
"I won't pose any problems for you. I take full responsibility for my own actions."
With a condescending smirk, the young man gestured for Cain to follow.
Book 2
Silver and Gold
~*~
1
A Story That Begins with Death
The house of Ragna was all abuzz that morning.
One of the young maidservants had died, they said.
The girl's name was Elis.
"Did you know her, Master?" Thirteen-year-old Selena had broached the topic in an attempt to dodge her studies.
"No. I didn't." The neat trim of Cain's shoulder-length hair shook as he gave a curt shake of his head. He was only six years older than his pupil, so she regarded him as little more than another playmate. He had to attempt to uphold at least some degree of professionalism while on the job.
"Elis was chosen to be the Emperor's consort, but she just couldn't bear the thought, and so she flung herself from the west tower last night! They say she had a lover - a 'Lord Leviath'! It's sooooo tragic!!" Selena opened her blue eyes wide, the very picture of brattiness, as she mimicked her mother's relay of the events. Her father was captain of the Emperor's personal guard, so any news from the family was highly credible.
Cain's face darkened. This was a distasteful story, he thought - one he had heard somewhere before. No - one he had heard everywhere before. The poor woman would be the talk of the palace gossips for a while, and then be completely forgotten. But he could sympathize with this Leviath, having once been in similar circumstances himself.
He had been invited to this palace to be Selena's tutor only very recently - the great royal city where the royal houses large and small and the privileged classes lived, with the Emperor's palace at its core. The royal family's palaces stood clustered in a secluded corner of the city surrounded by forest, seemingly looking down on all the rest. He took no interest in the high nobility who lived there, so he knew little about their business.
He resolved to put his professional reserve on the back burner for the time being. With the time for studying they had left, he received a breathless lecture from his pupil on the whole sad tale.
~*~
This "Leviath" was high royalty - the Emperor's nephew. He'd be eighteen this year, they said. Despite his parentage, he was not in line for the throne - he was a dispossessed prince. Or, rather, his father was.
While his father was still crown prince, however, he had compounded an unforgivable error he had previously committed on Armis, home to the Imperial capital, and its outlying colonies. As a result, the Emperor himself removed the prince from the line of succession and forbade him from ever taking the throne - a decision with which the royalty and residents of the imperial city were all in full agreement. The current Emperor's ascension to the throne was received with great rejoicing, and his pitiful brother was relegated to his younger brother's shadow.
This much, Cain knew on his own.
The dispossessed elder brother - and the wife and child he took - were, however, permitted to remain on the palace grounds. It was perhaps the easiest and safest option available to the Emperor - to keep his incompetent brother close at hand, under his watchful eye, as a sort of pet. And so this was the brother's only child - this Leviath Ragna Alviss. According to Selena, of course.
Lord Leviath had been frequenting bars in the cities underground to drown his resentment of his miserable lot, getting into brawls and coming home soused. He was no better than a small-time hoodlum, with no friends save for his father, the gossips said. Even when his dear lover Eris had died, they claimed, his expression changed not a bit, and he had staggered off that very morning to his usual drunken pastimes. The girl, Elis, had been a lowly maid, so what would he care if the Emperor stole her away - what would he care even if she killed herself for his sake? The ladies of the court were taken aback by his faithlessness.
Cain's breathing grew labored, as if something had taken hold of his heart. He excused himself from Selena's study and went outside, heading for a small, removed summer villa that was deserted this time of year. He stopped for a while outside its elegant white face and leaned against the cold stone railing, looking out at a dead winter landscape shrouded in grey.
~*~
No matter how much time passed, her face never faded from his mind.
Her breast as it shuddered; her blood as it gushed from her heart...
How long had it been since he had been able to get back on his feet? Nominally, he had recovered from his heartbreak, but in truth, he was just going through the motions - like a lifeless automaton, hollow inside.
~*~
"Lord Leviath!"
Cain turned around with a start at the voice behind him. From a small path that wended its way around the back of the villa came a tall, slender young man with black hair. He wore a brown cape and leather boots atop a simple but well-tailored outfit the color of dry grass. The young man stopped still; from behind, a short and stout middle-aged man ran up to him.
"Whew...there you are, Lord Leviath!!" cried the man in a raspy voice, his face beaded with sweat. He heaved an exaggerated sigh.
"Leviath"......then this man is the dispossessed prince......!
Surprised, Cain regarded the man anew. He had imagined the young man to be haggard and wan, conjuring the image of a caged bird with faded plumage.
But was he really? Another look, and Cain saw the man instead as a honed blade. His toned limbs were more befitting a young military officer than a nobleman, and he bore his handsome features with the dignity of royalty - but the depth and gravity of his expression beyond a doubt spoke of a young man wise beyond his years.
The older man with the dark brown hair sidled next to the silent Leviath. "I had heard that you'd been sneaking out of town, but here you are! right in the royal house. Chalk one up for my intuition, hmmm? Well, whatever are you doing in a place like this?!"
The young man returned his intrusive questions with a stony glare. "Nothing," replied a voice that was cold and dead. But the older man didn't seem to care; he pressed on, the smile thick upon his face. From his unsavory character and gaudy dress, Cain guessed him to be a palace merchant.
"I heard the news about Miss Elis, and I couldn't be more heartbroken! I haven't a clue why the Emperor would engage in such outrageous behavior... I mean, Miss Elis was such a nice girl - it's such a waste!......" The man's gaze flitted about his listener's face to take stock of how his words were received, and he changed his tone accordingly.
"Well, you know good old Marouk, Lord Leviath - I've always been on your side! We can't let this stand, can we?!" The young man was silent; taking this as assent, the older man continued. "After all, you are the rightful heir to the throne. It is only natural that you should want to regain your place. Of course...you're going to need help..."
But the man stopped speaking suddenly; he had noticed that his listener's gaze was fixed upon something just beyond him. In his sights was Cain.
~*~
The moment Cain's eyes met Leviath's, Cain was mesmerized. His right eye was gold, the mark of the royal house. His left eye, however, was of the most brilliant emerald green - a reminder of the circumstances of his unfortunate existence. Both seemed to glow from within with the lustre of exquisitely crafted glass orbs. What emotions stirred beneath their depths? Stare into them long enough, and it seemed you could go blind from the light within.
Cain felt dizzy; he swooned, feeling as if were going to faint. Chills and illusions, light and darkness all seemed to tear apart his heart at once. That's right - he remembered this feeling--
~*~
"YOU THERE!! WHO ARE YOU?!--" A high-pitched shriek of rage snapped Cain back to reality. The man named Marouk was threatening him from the safety of the prince's shadow. "Just how long have you been listening to us, hmmm??
Surrendering himself, Cain moved closer to the two men and bowed. "We haven't met. I work as a private tutor for General Konrad's daughter."
"Konrad!!" Upon hearing the name of the head of the Imperial Guard, Maruch's eyes bulged from their sockets. Leviath's own mismatched eyes narrowed.
"What's your name?"
"Cain."
"...Strange eyes you have. They're too still for somebody living, with a look too distant for somebody dead." Leviath's tone was that of someone at the brink of the abyss, perched on the knife's edge between life and death. Cain knew firsthand what it was like to be trapped in such a deep well of despair.
"Lord Leviath--" Cain couldn't stop himself from speaking. "--Don't become like me. Find a reason to live."
Leviath, as expected, did not respond. But his eyes - which shone more and more like jewels the closer he got - fixed themselves ever more tightly on Cain.
"Hmph - what babble. Say a word about this, and in an instant, I'll have your head!!" Marouk barked, his eyes wild.
"One more thing..." said Cain, turning away from the other two. "You'd be better served without men like that at your side. ...Excuse me."
And he left, to the sound of the older man's incensed shrieks. "You--you--I'LL KILL YOU!! I'll KILL you before you even get the chance to squeal!! Leave him to me, Lord L--L--L--/Leviath--*gasp*--*gasp*--*gasp*--" Sweat rolled down the man's face in fat drops as he screamed.
"He has the most magnificent golden aura."
"Huh?" Marouk looked up and noticed that a smile had flickered across Leviath's face. Words failed him in his shock.
"A man's real worth truly does lie beneath. ...He's beautiful." His gaze still followed Cain, who was receding ever farther away.
But his smile was not one of joy. It was instead a sense of a change in the air, like a lone bud emerging from a season sunken in grey haze - a summer breeze that wrapped Leviath in warmth.
2
A Chance Encounter
Cain returned to the manor just in time for his midday meal. Afterward, he left for the library inside the Imperial palace. Its grand halls were covered with giant maps and canvases.
"Cain?"
He stopped still at the sudden sound of his name. From behind a brilliant red curtain gracefully emerged a tall young man. He was stylishly attired in a tailored dark green suit, and the loose curls of his dark blond hair were tied behind him with black ribbon. He had a doll's skin, glassy and white, and a doll's visage, delicate and masklike.
The young man proceeded toward Cain, flashing his teeth with a grin. But there was no mirth there in the cold glint of his eyes. ...This man is dangerous, thought Cain, every sense sounding an alarm.
The young man made no attempt to hide the cruelty and sadism in his face. He did, however, seem to take note of the wariness in Cain's expression, and put on a cheerful affect.
He danced nearer Cain and murmured in a lilting voice: "I've learned so much about you...at Lord Leviath's request, of course! You seem quite the capable man - a man of talent."
Another one? thought Cain. What was it about Prince Leviath that drew such poisonous characters to him? He wanted to hold his head in his hands.
The young man sidled closer and smiled, though the smile did not reach his eyes. He looked upward so their eyes would meet; Cain was half a head taller than he was. "Lord Leviath has taken an interest in you...but ours is no business for a fine, upstanding gentleman like yourself. Go! Run! Right now - and I won't say a word."
Cain almost shot back a retort but recovered himself. "Don't worry. I have no intention of coming close to Lord Leviath." The young man certainly possessed a strange magnetism about him, but whoever he was, Cain had no intention of being drawn in - by him or anyone else.
But the young man glanced downward with the strangest look on his face and snickered to himself - as if in disbelief of his listener's ignorance. If it were a performance, it was a brilliant one.
"You don't understand. There's a carriage with the Imperial crest headed for General Konrad's manor as we speak."
"What?" For the first time, Cain lost his composure.
"...You'll fetch quite a high price, I think." As he registered Cain's blanched complexion, he laughed all the more gaily to himself.
Just then, a figure appeared in one of the plazas connected to the corridor. Another young man, this time in a mustard-colored outfit, but with the same blond hair.
"There you are, Kiefar!" The new presence put one hand on the snickering man's shoulder; in build, in height, in features - they were mirror images of each other.
"We have to get back; we're going to be late!" The second boy threw Kiefar a gentle smile. They were clearly twins, yet a mere glance at the newcomer's expression - so friendly and full of vibrant charm - called the entire idea into question.
"Then go for all I care!! I'm not." Kiefar's thin eyebrows knit, and he knocked his brother's hand away.
"But why, Kiefar?!......"
"I'm going to amuse myself at Lord Leviath's estate. I'm not a palace-dweller like you. If I so much as show my face over there, they'll kill me where I stand."
"But Mother will be heartbroken!"
"Mother will be just fine with you there. Go on. Your inbred royalty's that way." Kiefar pointed back toward the exit. The twins were as different as night and day - as golden sun and silvery moon.
Day slumped his shoulders in sad resignation and departed, looking back several times over his shoulder at his brother. But there was nothing but despise in Kiefar's face. His house must have been a living hell just by virtue of his brother's presence. Everyone has a right to happiness; those who have had that right stolen by cruel fate lose their faith forever - become demons themselves. Cain understood why Kiefar would choose to follow Leviath.
When the boy disappeared completely from view, the masklike smile returned to Kiefar's face. "Well, I must be going. I've warned you as best I can; farewell!"
"Wait a moment...'Kiefar,' is it?"
"Hmmm?...What is it?" Kiefar's chestnut eyes met Cain's steel-grey ones.
"I'd like to meet with Lord Leviath. Will you take me to him?"
Cain's expression mixed animosity with shock. He shrugged his shoulders: "Well, I don't know; this is no business of mine."
"I won't pose any problems for you. I take full responsibility for my own actions."
With a condescending smirk, the young man gestured for Cain to follow.
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Date: 2011-08-26 08:46 pm (UTC)Thanks again for translating. I didn't think you were going to go beyond the first book. Color me surprised! :)
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Date: 2011-08-28 04:26 am (UTC)